Game club



- y 1935. E. B. HINCKLEY 2,023,885

GAME CLUB Filed April 5. 1934 to those usedfor the game'of golf, buthav Patented Dec. 10, 1935 U NI T-ED -STATES -UFF IC E 'My invention'relates to clubs of a typesi-milar ing marked distinctions from normal golf clubs,

- andto'be'usedfor a different purpose.

In my Patent No. 1,911,559, dated May 30, 1933, I disclose a game called teeball partaking in- -part-of the natureof the games'of baseball,

:1 tennis'and golfyand-in which a ball preferably --'la'rger than the normal golf ball but of quite resilient construction is struck by'the club wielded -by the player-and is thus'propelled into some point'in thefield.

" As in g'olfthe ball is preferably hit from atee,

but instead of attempting to give accuracy ---through the'skill of the player and the special adaptation of the club to niceties of placing through the character of the face given to the 'club, inthe present case one of mymain purposes is-tomake it difficultto directthe ball in 22-3-20- any given preferred direction or to any preferred 4! distance or point.

A further purpose of my invention is to curve vi the striking face of the club convexly, preferably convexing it-in both vertical and**horizontal planes through the face of-the clubfi In other wordsythe face of the club is both circumferential and is also bowed in vertical planes. so as to give aface which is most desirably swelled outwardly and curved in all directions.

A further purpose of my invention is to curve the striking face of the club convexly, preferably convexing it in both vertical and horizontal planes through the face of the club. In other words, the face of the club is both circumferential and is also bowed in vertical planes so as to give a face which is most desirably swelled outwardly and curved in all directions.

A further purpose is to provide a club which shall deliver a good blow to the ball, but which shall be deliberately designed to make the result of the blow uncertain, using this as a hazard in the club.

A further purpose is to provide a club of the general character of a golf club, but much larger and heavier than the golf club, for the purpose of making it possible to use it eiTectively upon a much larger ball than a golf ball and a ball of less elasticity than a golf ball.

A further purpose is to form a club having bulged curved surfaces on opposite striking faces, whereby the club is suited to permit use by a right-handed or left-handed player, using the same club, and to disturb the aim of the player in either event.

A further purpose is toprovide a club of the of a stick embodying-my invention.

generalcharacter of a golf club with a' definite hazard in the-club by which it is unsuited for performing-its duty to'thebest" effect.

I- have pref erred to 1 illustrate my invention 'by one form"only, 'se1ecting a form whichis quite. 5

excellent for the purpose'which I--have-in mind,

' but which has-been selected primarily with aview to its suitability to illustration of the invention.

Figure 1- is a side elevation of the 'lower end Figure 2 is a top plan -view, partly in section; of the structure of Figure 1, taken uponline 2-2 thereof and with a ball shown in not and dash lines adjacent a striking edge ofthe club. '-Figure 3 is a transverse sectionof Figure 1 taken upon line 3-3 thereof.

Figure 4 is an end-elevationof the head end "only of the stick seen'in-the before mentioned figures.

' Figure 5 is a perspective viewpfthe lowen-endtz of the stick seen in'Figures 1 to i-inclusive.

Figure 6 is a sectional view of a -b'all used with my invention. v Thesh'aft' lfl of the present illustration, is

larger thanthe' shaft of the normal g'olf sticlegs for-the purpose of fitting and-wielding a neck H The head [2 comprises for"our=pre'sent purposes a body l3 heavy enough for thepurpose 'so intended and limiting preferably opposite counterpart bulging faces l4 and I5, each of which comprises a complete operating face for a left or right-hand player, as the case may be, and in addition by its bulging shape adds to the weight to make either face effective.

The faces l4, l5 are both convex externally and are curved as at I6 and I! in vertical and horizontal planes respectively. Though the curvature l6 might be the same as the corre- 40 spending length of curvature at IT, giving effect of a sphere if the curves be true arcs of circles, this is not necessary for two reasons. In the first place it is ordinarily desirable to have a smaller radius of curvature in the vertical plane than in the horizontal plane and because there is no need of the curve in either plane being the arc of the circle. It can be varied from point to point progressively in curvature with or without definite law of the variation. This throws open for use here all kinds of curves, including such well-known curves as parabolas, ellipses, hyberbolas, etc., as well as curves whose lack of regularity or plan leaves them without designation.

The top of the body at [8 is shown as crowned,

giving additional weight without'undue distancev between the striking faces and the bottom of the club at 19 is given a normal bulging curvature suiting it to skimming over the ground and making it moredifficult to sole the club properly.

The adjoining edges between the striking faces and the top and bottom of the body of the head are curved as at 20, the end of the club is curved V ter of the face increases.

It will thus be seen that my club is adifficult one with which reliably to guide the ball, being deliberately made more difficult than the golf, 7 club by the considerably bulging curvature of the faces. Instead of limiting the hazards by the condition of the field,'as in golf, I have provided a special club. to act in place of most of them.

In the patent there is also a net similar to a tennis net in the form of ahazard, but whose character as a hazard is exaggerated and intensified by the, type of head used.

It will be evident that the angle of the club head to the shaft suits the club to be swung like a golf club, with such precision, or more properly lack of precision in the direction and distance in and. to which the ball goes as is'caused by the studied lack of plane surface upon the striking face of the club head. J

It will be noted that the club is. comparable to a driver in that it is the forward face of the club which is intended to engage, the ball rather than to a spoon or other lifter type of club in which the ball engages largely the top face of the club sliding along the top surface while the club head is wedged under it.

A slight variation of the striking of the ball with my improved club will cause the ball to be driven into an uncertain place. It is the uncertainty of placement when the ball is hit that makes this particular club especially adaptable for use with the game of my patent mentioned above. r

' In Figure 6 a cross-section of the ball 25 is i shown including in it a golf ball core 26 and a coating .of considerable thickness for the golf i ball core of material 21 less resilient than the outer material of the golf ball intended to make the ball larger and heavier and less resilient than a golf ball. Of course, I may use a ball of different construction from that shown. It will be noted that there is a combination between my heavier club and the ball above described for the 10 handicap purpose intended in that the ball is .made more nearly a size which can be caught by the fielders in the game described in my patent but not so lively as to be capable of being batted 7 far.

In view of my invention and disclosure variations and modifications to meet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident to others skilled in the art, to obtain part or all of the benefits of my invention without copying the structure shown, and I, therefore, claim all such in so far as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: a

1. A teeball club, having opposite faces adapted for driving by left or right-hand players at will and having both driving faces convexed with progressively variant curvature in horizontal planes throughout the normal striking zone.

2. A teeball club, having opposite faces adapted for driving by left or right-hand players at will and having both driving faces convexed with progressively variant curvature in horizontal and 5 vertical planes throughout the normal striking zone.

3. A teeball club having a side striking face convexed with progressively variant curvature in a the striking zone, the convexity arising from.pro-- 40 gressively variant curves in both horizontal and vertical planes.

4. A teeball club having the head and shank or shaft larger than those of a normal golf club driver and convexed with progressively variant curvature on the striking face in horizontal planes.

EDWARD B. HINCKLEY. 

